Teaching a tiny puppy to let go of something

Question
QUESTION: Hi,
I just got an 11 week old Shih tzu mix puppy (2.5 pounds) a few days ago with two very similar problems. She is sweet and calm most of the time, but she gets little bouts of wildness. During those little bouts of wildness, she likes to grab whatever she can fit her little mouth around and she will not let go. When I had this problem with my Shepherd pup, I would just say "Ah ah ah!" sharply, and the noise would startle her into letting it go and I'd then give her a treat. This pup though isn't at all phased by a sharp voice. It's a problem when she grabs things she shouldn't grab, but it's also even more of a problem when it's a finger she's grabbing. Everything I've read says to make a sharp noise and then ignore her, but the problem is she just hangs on until I gently pry her off. It doesn't seem like she is differentiating between a toy and a finger, and i'm not sure how to make her let go of either quickly. Thanks for any help!

ANSWER: Here's a bunch of puppy-related documents, a couple pertaining specifically to nipping.


http://www.marinhumanesociety.org/Behavior/Handouts/PuppyStuff.pdf
http://www.hsmo.org/m_obedience/puppyissues.swf
http://www.hsmo.org/m_obedience/behavior/puptrain.html
http://www.hsmo.org/m_obedience/behavior/pupnip.html
http://www.hsmo.org/m_obedience/behavior/pupstage.html
http://www.hsmo.org/m_obedience/behavior/pupchew.html


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QUESTION: Thanks, I've put those all in my favorites.

My major problem is that it's not just a nip, she hangs on to a finger and doesn't let go as if she's playing tug of war with your finger? And yelling Ouch! as all the resources i've read, including the ones you attached, doesn't distract her enough to make her let go. Is there another way of getting a 2.5 pound puppy to let go of something that's already in her mouth? Is there another way of distracting her besides the OUCH method?

Answer
You could try a rattle can (a soda can filled with rocks or pennies) and shake it loudly.  The second part of the training, though, is to give the dog something else, like a chew toy, when she lets go so she knows what is proper to chew on and what isn't.